Bellingham Food Bank
Bellingham Food Bank began in 1972, the year when several of our state's food banks began the organized fight against hunger. From its humble yet noble beginnings, it has now grown to an outstanding organization that provided 4.4 million pounds of food (1.4 million distributed through local organizations and 3 million directly distributed to hungry families) to its hungry neighbors last year.
In 2007 they opened a brand new facility that now keeps up with a demand that has been increasing significantly since the beginning of the recession.
The many innovative programs that Bellingham Food Bank has taken on makes it a fascinating organization to visit and replicate across the state wherever possible.
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| Organized sorting areas where volunteers prepare food for distribution. |
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| Hard to believe, but this warehouse floor goes from being covered with stacks of pallets of delivered food and then sorted and cleaned within a matter of a couple hours. |
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| These nearly indestructible bins are excellent for collecting and storing donated food. |
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| Committed volunteers are essential to keep Bellingham Food Bank running. This is their schedule in the Volunteer Break Room. |
One of the local agencies that Bellingham Food Bank supplies with food is Ferndale Food Bank. Six years ago they were able to build a small but incredibly efficient building to run their distribution from. They see 500 families a month on average. They serve these families with incredible joy, and are excited to also serve hungry kids by starting a summer meals program this year. They are also proud of their shopping method, which strives to maintain ultimate client dignity to those they serve.
They do admit, however, that they wish they had a better supply of cooking oil and protein, as those items fly off of the shelf as soon as they are in. The decrease in families receiving food stamps also creates greater stress on their services.
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| Front desk where clients check in at the Ferndale Food Bank. |
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| Ferndale Food Bank is proud of how they allow clients to choose their own food by utilizing the shopping method, complete with shopping carts! |
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| Baby food supplied by the local Kiwanis Club. |
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| This empty freezer shows the efficiency of the Ferndale Food Bank to get food distributed quickly, but it also shows how close they are to being out of food after a distribution. |
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| Suzanne Nevan, the Director of the Ferndale Food Bank, with Mike Cohen, the Executive Director of the Bellingham Food Bank. |
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| Clients wait outside the Ferndale Food Bank often in the cold. Recently, they were able to add this overhead heater to try to make it more comfortable. Often times, clients can wait 20 minutes to an hour and a half to receive food at Washington food banks due to increased demand. |
More About Bellingham Food Bank from their website:
Bellingham Food Bank is Whatcom County's largest emergency food
provider. Their mission is to reduce hunger in Bellingham by providing
wholesome foods to those in need. They meet this mission by supplying
groceries to tens of thousands of hungry Bellingham families every year.
This food bank is available to anyone living in Bellingham. They operate
with a small staff and more than 200 volunteers who
serve their neighbors with dignity and without judgment. Single
individuals and families can visit once a week for as long as they need
assistance, and folks typically leave the food bank with 50-70 pounds of
nutritious food.
In addition to feeding Bellingham's hungry
families, they serve as the main warehouse and distribution center for all
Whatcom County food banks. They also coordinate the Food Bank Farm, Small
Potatoes Gleaning Project and the Garden Project. To learn more about
Bellingham Food Bank's programs, please click on the links below.
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